Heavy fighting breaks out in Mogadishu

FE Team | Published: August 11, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

MOGADISHU, Aug 10 (AFP): At least four Somalis were killed Friday as heavy fighting broke out in the capital Mogadishu between insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed government forces, police and witnesses said.
The news agency reporter in Mogadishu described the clashes as among the most intense since April, when the interim government wrested final control of the city from an Islamist militia that briefly held large parts of the country.
The latest bout of fighting erupted in southern Mogadishu at around midnight (2100 GMT) and lasted for an hour and a half, witnesses said, adding that no further clashes were reported Friday morning.
The worst fighting took place around the Holwadag police station, which insurgents attacked with machine guns and rocket launchers.
"We suffered no casualties but a civilian in a nearby house was killed," policeman Mohammed Farah told the news agency.
Witnesses said insurgents also launched a mortar and rocket attack against a Somali security position near a milk factory, killing two soldiers.
An officer who wished to remain anonymous said the burials were already under way and added that a number of other government forces were wounded in the incident.
Fighting was also reported near an Ethiopian army post in the Ali Kamin district, where the dead body of a civilian was later found.
"I saw the body of a man who was shot in the head... but nobody knows who killed him," local resident Siyad Adan Fiyore told the news agency the news agency.
A grenade also struck a civilian home in the southern neighbourhood of Shirkole, wounding three brothers, according to the victims' sister.
Since being defeated by the Ethiopian army and their Somali allies, insurgents have carried out almost daily hit-and-run attacks but sustained direct clashes have been rare.
The latest violence brings to at least 11 the number of people killed in Mogadishu violence over the past 48 hours.
Following the latest flare-up, one of Mogadishu's main radio stations, Shabelle, was raided by policemen who ordered it off air and briefly detained seven staff members.